Eliciting the educational priorities of home care workers caring for adults with heart failure.

BACKGROUND: Although home care workers (HCWs) are increasingly caring for adults with heart failure (HF), many feel unprepared and lack HF training. To serve as the foundation for a future educational intervention, we aimed to elicit HCWs' HF educational needs. METHODS: We partnered with the largest healthcare union in the US to recruit 41 HCWs employed by 17 home care agencies. Using the nominal group technique, we asked HCWs to respond to three questions: When caring for an HF patient: (1) What information do you want? (2) What symptoms worry you? (3) What situations do you struggle with? Participants ranked their responses by priority. Data were consolidated by question. RESULTS: For question 1, participants ranked HF signs and symptoms most highly, followed by HF treatment and medications. For question 2, chest pain was most worrisome, followed by neurologic changes and shortness of breath. For question 3, participants struggled with encouraging patients to follow a heart-specific diet. CONCLUSIONS: HCWs expressed a need to learn more about signs and symptoms of HF and ways to assist patients with HF self-care. These findings can inform the development of an HF training program for HCWs that specifically addresses their expressed needs.

"It's Like They Forget That the Word 'Health' Is in 'Home Health Aide'": Understanding the Perspectives of Home Care Workers Who Care for Adults With Heart Failure.

Background Home care workers ( HCW s) increasingly provide long-term and posthospitalization care for community-dwelling adults with heart failure ( HF ). They observe, assist, and advise these patients, yet few studies have examined their role in HF . As the foundation for future interventions, we sought to understand the perspectives of HCW s caring for adults with HF . Methods and Results We conducted 8 focus groups in partnership with the Home Care Industry Education Fund, a benefit fund of the 1199 Service Employees International Union United Healthcare Workers East, the largest healthcare union in the United States. English- and Spanish-speaking HCW s with HF clients were eligible to participate. Data were analyzed thematically. Forty-six HCW s employed by 21 unique home care agencies participated. General and HF -specific themes emerged. Generally, HCW s (1) feel overworked and undervalued; (2) find communication and care to be fragmented; (3) are dedicated to clients and families but are caught in the middle; and, despite this, (4) love their job. With respect to HF , HCW s (1) find it frightening and unpredictable; (2) are involved in HF self-care without any HF training; and (3) find the care plan problematic. Conclusions Although frequently involved in HF self-care, most HCW s have not received HF training. In addition, many felt poorly supported by other healthcare providers and the care plan, especially when their clients' symptoms worsened. Interventions that provide HF -specific training and aim to improve communication between members of the home health care team may enhance HCW s' ability to care for adults with HF and potentially lead to better patient outcomes.